1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an AC generator driven by an internal combustion engine, which can be mounted in a vehicle such as a passenger car, a truck or the like.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is well known that a plurality of U-shaped conductor segments are connected at the open ends thereof to form a phase winding of a multi-phase stator winding of an AC generator for a vehicle as is disclosed in International Publication Number WO 92/06527 (1992). The connected open-end portions (hereinafter referred to as the connected portions) of the conductor segments are disposed at one axial end of a stator core to be soldered or welded. Four conductor segments are respectively inserted in slots of a stator to form a four-turn one-phase winding. In this conventional structure, many specific segments are necessary to connect the four windings together, and to provide a pair of output terminals. That is, five specific segments are required to form a four-turn-one-phase winding, and 15 specific segments are required for a three-phase four-turn stator winding.